The influence of global climate change on the scientific foundations and applications of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry: Introduction to a SETAC international workshop

Abstract

This is the first of seven papers resulting from a Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) international workshop titled “The Influence of Global Climate Change on the Scientific Foundations and Applications of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.” The workshop involved 36 scientists from 11 countries and was designed to answer the following question: How will global climate change influence the environmental impacts of chemicals and other stressors and the way we assess and manage them in the environment? While more detail is found in the complete series of articles, some key consensus points are as follows: (1) human actions (including mitigation of and adaptation to impacts of global climate change [GCC]) may have as much influence on the fate and distribution of chemical contaminants as does GCC, and modeled predictions should be interpreted cautiously; (2) climate change can affect the toxicity of chemicals, but chemicals can also affect how organisms acclimate to climate change; (3) effects of GCC may be slow, variable, and difficult to detect, though some populations and communities of high vulnerability may exhibit responses sooner and more dramatically than others; (4) future approaches to human and ecological risk assessments will need to incorporate multiple stressors and cumulative risks considering the wide spectrum of potential impacts stemming from GCC; and (5) baseline/reference conditions for estimating resource injury and restoration/rehabilitation will continually shift due to GCC and represent significant challenges to practitioners. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2013;32:13–19. © 2012 SETAC

Influence of global climate change on chemical fate and bioaccumulation: The role of multimedia models

“…As described in the present study and elsewhere 3, 8, there are many processes and interactions related to GCC with the potential to influence the fate and transport of chemicals in the environment at different spatial and temporal scales. The behavior of chemicals in the environment, however, is strongly influenced by their physical–chemical properties and, consequently, so is the sensitivity to various perturbations associated with GCC.…”

“…Changes to the abiotic and biotic components of the environment as a result of global climate change (GCC) may impact how we currently assess the environmental risks of chemicals 1–3. Environmental risk assessment requires an understanding of the relationship between exposure and effects, whereby exposure is typically estimated using an environmental fate model 4, 5.…”

“…The authors acknowledge the financial or in-kind contributions that made this workshop possible, particularly those acknowledged in the introductory paper to the series (see Stahl et al 3, this issue). We also acknowledge the financial support of the EU project CLEAR (European Commission Seventh Framework Programme, FP7-ENV-2008-1) for providing financial support to J.M.…”

Interactions between chemical and climate stressors: A role for mechanistic toxicology in assessing climate change risks

“…Contributors who supported the Pellston workshop and publications are gratefully acknowledged and documented in the introduction to this series (Stahl et al 144, this issue). K. Solomon, J.E.…”

Drivers of U.S. toxicological footprints trajectory 1998–2013

“…Toxic emissions impact on soils and water bodies, affect ecosystems and are detrimental to human health, quality of life and wellbeing67. A new study published in the latest issue of environmental toxicology and chemistry8 highlighted among other factors that human actions (including mitigation of and adaptation to impacts of global climate change, GCC) may have as much influence on the fate and distribution of chemical pollutants as GCC. As such, climate change has the potential to alter human chemical exposures by changing how chemicals move and transform in the environment.…”